Chapter 67: why cant things slow down for once?

Middle Fire Month, 25th Day, 600AGG

Right hand on left shoulder. Left hand to their right—fingers interlocked and arms held outwards.

Foot forward, body fluidly following. "Relax more."

"Right," Yuriko stumbled backwards on their right. "Relax. Relaxing… I'm relaxing."

Draudillon stepped to the right, her partner falling behind by half a beat. "Keep your breathing steady. Even if you don't need to, it'll help maintain your poise."

"I am!" The angel stepped forward and onto her foot. For all the grace they naturally displayed when idling, it all vanished the moment they needed to move at a set rhythm.

Draudillon didn't particularly mind though. It was one of many imperfections that only added to the angel's charm. That said…

"Watch your feet."

"Oof," Yuriko's face burned red. "S-Sorry."

"Don't be," she shifted backwards, diagonally sinister. Their movements were too light and unsure to harm her. "This is what practice is for. Now, focus."

Feet side by side, parallel and nearly touching. Close, but never quite there.

Repeat. Step and step and step always ending up in the same place.

If this repetition could last an eternity, would that be so bad?

"Cerabrate… that guy is gonna be there," Yuriko broke the smooth cadence they had managed to establish. Jealousy tinted their words and threw off their pacing—a side of the angel she hadn't seen before. "You'll have to dance with him, probably."

"Maybe," Draudillon agreed, gently guiding them back into proper form. The display of possessiveness suffused her with warmth even while sending a pleasant shiver down her spine. "Do you hate the idea?"

"Yeah, but…" the distance between them shrunk to nil, pressed against each other as they were. "Saying no would be rude, wouldn't it? Since he's this big hero and all…"

'She's doing her best to hold it in,' the dragon queen softened her gaze. 'I shouldn't be excessive with my teasing.'

"Then I suppose I would politely turn him away if he were to ask," she comforted the angel, savoring the ever-changing scenery of emotions they made no effort to hide. "I'm taken after all, am I not?"

"I thought that didn't matter for balls," a gloomy cloud seemed to hang over Yuriko. Gods, she shouldn't, though that did little to change the effect their borderline exaggerated expressions had on her.

"It doesn't," Draudillon surrendered to baser urges and pinched their cheek with her free hand. Physical affection came easier since the… incident yesterday. "But for you, I'll make an exception.

"Besides," the hand returned to their shoulder. "Shouldn't I be the jealous one? You've received quite a few invitations from foreign countries, no?"

"Didn't accept any," Yuriko bashfully muttered, eyes refusing to stray from their feet. "Too busy."

"Is that the only reason?"

"W-Well, I didn't wanna embarrass you by acting like an idiot," they glanced up, blushed, and looked right back down. "I don't know anything about talking to big-shots."

"So I don't count," she cocked an eyebrow in response. "Your standards are high, as expected of your station, O Lady of Wings—"

"That's n-not what I meant," Draudillon noted that their movements were getting cleaner already despite their gloominess. 'A fast learner as always—to be fair, this isn't overly difficult.'

"Mmm," another set complete. She should've had a music box or crystal brought into the ballroom; it would have made for a more accurate atmosphere. "I know."

"Sorry," Yuriko was subdued and quiet, filled with a guilt that suppressed their cheer earlier this morning. "For making you take a day off just to—"

"To spend time with you," a step backwards with her right. "That's not a problem, is it?"

"No! It's not a problem, I'm just," she managed to move her foot out the path of theirs. Spacing was particularly troubling for them, it appeared. "There's a lot going on, y'know? And I'm wondering if it's okay for us to be taking it easy."

"There are certainly matters that feel more pressing," Draudillon wondered if it would be better to practice after they procured the proper attire. Ah, speaking of which, Yuriko always wore that same dress, didn't they? An oversight the dragon queen resolved to address—no matter how powerful of a magic item it was, they shouldn't have to wear the same thing everyday. "On the surface, what we're doing now may seem unimportant, but it's one of countless customs that serve as, how do I say this… social lubricant."

"I get that. I get that it's important and tough," but it still bothered them—oh, shift to the left. "The beastmen problems, healing and rez stations… those also feel important, you get me?"

'You've been busy with the war and its aftermath for months,' they were only getting busier operating portals left and right, not even able to stick around to supervise the teleportations in their entirety. 'I have to pay more attention. Have to do better.'

"I understand," backstep, again. "But you'll always have those duties to manage—for so long you want to bear them. Think of what we're doing now as an extension of those same responsibilities. The end goal is the same: safeguarding the people you've taken upon yourself to protect."

"That makes sense…" They finally came to a halt. Draudillon glanced at a clock and imperceptibly widened her eyes: two whole hours? It felt significantly shorter. "We're done for today?"

"We'll have to practice a lot more than this," she lowered her left arm and brought her right hand down to the angel's waist. "Etiquette as well. I won't be able to guide you every day, so I'll find a qualified teacher who would be willing."

"Eh, it's just one dance, right?"

Draudillon blinked. "This was just to get you accustomed to moving alongside a beat. What we actually need to work on is—slightly more complicated."

"You were going to say something besides 'slightly…' "

"For you, it might take some extra work," Yuriko's lips curved into a cute pout. Oh, Draudillon wanted nothing more than to repeat yesterday's incident—if only the very thought didn't bring her mind to a spluttering halt. "Just a little bit, I promise."

"Feels like it's gonna take a lot longer," her beloved's pout grew even more pronounced. "I dunno how you do it, Drau. It's really amazing."

"Th-This much is to be expected from me," Draudillon looked to the side, mouth a thin line that threatened to waver into a smile. "I've been queen for decades, after all."

"I guess, but you make it look so easy," Yuriko warmed up to their ridiculously excessive praise of her. "Like, well, the way you move is super smooth, and…"

They mumbled something under their breath. "And?"

"… you're beautiful," Yuriko's eyes met hers, and neither could turn away from the other. "I, I mean, you're always beautiful, but you were extra—"

"Thank you," Draudillon cut them off before her discipline completely crumbled. She did not, however, release her hold on the angel. "You cut quite the striking figure as well."

With an appearance like theirs, there would no doubt be countless suitors lining up to infringe on her territory. If it was to the degree where Yuriko could keep them at bay with sheer presence alone… no, they were far too approachable for their beauty to intimidate others. 'Gah, she's worried about me, but now I'm worried about her.'

"This is only the avatar I played in Yggdrasil," Yuriko pinched the skin of their rosy neck, pulling and releasing with a tense energy. "What you see isn't, it's not, ugh—it's not me."

"And you're worried that nobody is aware of the 'real' you."

"… are they?"

"As far as I'm concerned, this is the real you," the dragon queen reached up and took the angel's hand away from their neck. "I can touch you, can I not? Your words, I can hear them. Your heart," she laid a palm against Yuriko's chest. "Does it not pound with life?"

Draudillon firmly continued: "I won't lie—we wouldn't have met if it weren't for that game, but what we have now is because in spite of everything, you're you."

"H-Hwaaah…" With how red they were, she was mildly surprised they hadn't swooned yet. The physiology of a high-leveled being, she supposed. "Um—Iloveyoutoo!"

Their pink lips were excruciatingly close. A little more and…

"If it had been someone else in your place," regal fingers brushed back the hair curtaining Yuriko's face. "I don't think I would've fallen in love, you know?"

And of course, a Gatekeeper chose that moment to tap her on the shoulder and ruin the moment. "What is it?"

"Oh, someone's at the door," Yuriko abruptly pulled away, pointing out the obvious that Draudillon had somehow missed. "Come in!"

"Your Majesty," a youth who couldn't have been even two and a half decades in age deeply bowed. "Lady of—Yuriko. The Prime Minister wanted me to deliver these to you."

"Fernde," she was fairly sure that was his name, although there were many additions to the Royal Court nowadays. "What have you brought?"

The courtier, or administrator, silently handed her the documents and stood back, face pale and sweaty. What could have made them this worried? The kingdom's sanctity was guaranteed from within and without, the storm season had yet to come, and none of their human neighbors were foolish enough to meddle with the bulwark holding back the demihumans.

'I suppose now's the time to find out,' Draudillon scanned the parchment, her stomach sinking with each passing paragraph. Revulsion quickly revolved to anger then animosity before finally settling on chilling resolve.

It was foolish to think there could possibly exist a peace between the Draconic Kingdom and Beastman Country built on the foundation of mutual goodwill. Yuriko had made it easier to forget their transgressions, but what she had read—what she was still reading—reminded her that the present peace was solely thanks to the angel's authority.

If the beastmen ceased their savagery because the alternative was utter annihilation, then what would stop them from resuming on the off-chance they found the means to struggle?

No, the only tolerable coexistence was absolute subjugation: mind, body, and soul. Whether that happened in ten years or a hundred mattered not.

"Drau?" Yuriko hesitantly tugged on the sleeve of her dress. "Is it that bad?"

"That remains to be seen," her voice was cold: not the coldest it had ever been but fast approaching it. "Fernde, bring this Rila Giln here; I would ask questions of her."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

What came first: being a Dragon Lord or ruling as Queen on behalf of her people?

The difference was growing blurry.


"Sure doesn't look like they're here to help," Rokana carelessly drawled, sharpened stare belying their caution. "The way they're staring at us, I wouldn't be surprised if we woke up hideless."

"Don't antagonize them," Rogrek growled. After cleaning the last of the negative energy miasma in Kruurat, what remained of the Council announced a Mac'tal resurgence and plans to ally the Republic with the humans they had harassed for the past couple decades. He just didn't think it would happen this soon.

"I won't. I'm not stupid," the cougarman scowled at him. "But dontcha think this is a little over the top? We're going to be fighting side by side, and I'm not about to trust my back to somebody who probably wants me dead more than the spiders do."

"We aren't given the luxury of choice," the pair walked by a squad of human soldiers. In all honesty, the glares they shot were childishly harmless. Rogrek was confident he could tear apart the entire unit in under five minutes—if it weren't for the angels backing their every move. "So keep your head down."

"Pft, whatever," Rokana's face scrunched up as the beastman stuck out his tongue. A few of the humans seemed to glower before their more restrained fellows discouraged them. "You'd think I ate their mother, sons, and sworn brothers."

"You might've."

"… hm," his partner cupped their chin in contemplation. "That's pretty unlikely."

'I was trying to make a point,' Rogrek's chest sank with a weighty exhale. "Unlikely or not, that is the impression they have of us. They aren't livestock who have no choice but to take insults lying down."

"Still really annoying," their feet finally brought them in front of a temple temporarily requisitioned as a command center. "See you around, 'kay? I've got to get a move on it before Ka'yilt starts nagging again!"

'What an idiot,' Rogrek waited for Rokana to enter the building before leaving. For someone he'd known for a mere two weeks, they had become someone whom he could comfortably call friend. 'Is he this way with everybody?'

"—show some respect," his ears twitched as he rounded the street corner. A tigerman from Clan… Ur given the sigils on their attire was hissing at a trio of equally incensed humans. "We never begged for your shitty help."

"If it weren't for the Goddess, yer kind would be left to rot, ya damn fursack!"

"You would worship a Butcher and call them a god," the beastman bristled, claws extending in an unconscious act of anxiety. "Exactly what I expected from a kingdom of savages—"

"That's enough out of you," Rogrek stepped in and yanked the tigerman by the scruff. "Apologies for my colleague's behavior. It's been a harrowing time for the Republic."

"Tsk, best hold a tighter leash on yer pal there," one of the soldiers spat on the ground. Thankfully, they didn't choose to escalate further—departing with just a hateful look and a few choice curses.

"Shameful!" The beastman wrested free, elbowing his jaw in the process. "Why stop me? I would've taught them a lesson they'd never forget!"

"Keh," Rogrek's thumb swiped the blood off his chin. "What the hell was that?"

"They were the ones picking a fight—"

"Irrelevant. You should be aware of our situation," the beastman was lucky the humans didn't have any angels with them. "If something happened, would you be able to take responsibility for the well-being of your clan?"

"That is… I'm supposed to let them treat us as lessers in our home?"

"Yes," Rogrek bluntly replied. "Such is the fate of those who lose in war."

"Easy for you to say," their snarl was spilling over with resentment. The losses they sustained opened them up to the Mac'tal if he recalled correctly. "What have you lost? Your clan still has its champions, its wealth, its territories. What do you know about loss?"

"Do not speak to me of loss," he severely reprimanded the impudent fool. "Clan Kroh'or lost thousands in the war. We've lost two Rajan in the span of two months. So if you know what's good for you, you'll show some more sense in dealing with our allies."

"…" With a huff and a puff, they stomped off towards the center of Kruurat where the High Vizier was collaborating with the human lord in charge of the brigade in the city.

"Good grief," he tore his gaze away and continued down the path until reaching Clan Kroh'or's quarters. Rogrek entered the complex and navigated the twisting hallways leading to the conference room. "They tell me to come, but end up being late themselves…"

Since he was being called in mere days after the purification of the capital was concluded, it was likely he would be dispatched to hotspots where the spiders were gathering. 'A warrior's life is restless…'

Rogrek didn't hate it, but this was fast. Too fast. Although he supposed that went to show the pitiful state the Republic found itself in.

Footsteps drew near and stopped right outside. The cedar door swung inwards and welcomed the presence of the clan lord and his sibling who stood beside them.

"Rajan. Brother," Rogrek stood up and lowered his head. "I heard my presence was required."

"Rogrek! You've arrived rather early, it seems," Falgun and his brother pulled out chairs around the table and sat down. "Ilsath had to acquaint the humans with some facilities, so he'll be busy for a while."

"Understood. Will I be attached to the group reinforcing Ur'lathla?" There existed a few other locations requiring support, but the center of Clan Ur was facing the direst circumstances. 'I might see that Kshatra from earlier. Funny how that works.'

"And I thought I'd surprise you too," Falgun clapped their hands in theatrical applause. "Did you hear from somebody else?"

"It was a lucky guess, Rajan. Will a regiment of humans be coming along as well?"

"Seems so," Falgun hummed. "I don't want to hear you dying to a sword in the back, you hear? Not after coming to see you off, haha!"

'It's telling how that's actually plausible,' Rogrek bitterly smiled. "Angels too?"

"There should be some tagging along," his brother reassured him. "A thousand or so humans and maybe a third that many angels… What would be the equivalent in our warriors?"

"In terms of strength, a Kshatra would be the equal of the lesser ones, but that's not taking into account their natural traits," Falgun counted off their fingers. "Flight, innate magic resistance and damage reduction… who knows what else. Assuming they're summons, the main thing we have going for us is that they lack flexibility."

"It would be great if only angels were sent," Rograk huffed. "They don't scheme behind your back and actually have some use. What are these humans good for? Save for their rangers, the vast majority won't even be able to navigate the terrain we need to defend."

'If the Draconic Kingdom's real goal was to exterminate the spiders, then they would've sent more of those flaming angels that killed Faa'zh at that fortress city—or their six winged champion.'

From what he had heard, they were a wildfire walking among kindling. Such was the overwhelming difference in power between them and the rest of the world. Even a swarm of a thousand Bladereavers wouldn't be their match.

"Awfully quiet today, Rogrek," Falgun chuffed as they tapped the table. "Care to share your thoughts?"

"Nothing of worth, Rajan," he respectfully declined. All present already knew the reason why the humans had no desire to put an immediate end to the current crisis. Discussing it would do no good if they couldn't find a way to persuade the humans.

"Always the serious one," a short laugh from the Rajan and mirrored by his brother. "Loosen up a little! Once you get deployed in the east, any day might be your last."

"I'll endeavor to do so, Rajan."

"Hah… how are you two this mismatched?" Someone knocked on the door. Hm? How did anyone know they were in here? "Rograk, if you would."

"An Archive arcanist," Rograk blinked in surprise. "Isn't your cabal overworked at the moment?"

"Rajan Kroh'or," the Ape beastman ignored his brother's question. Combined with their grim bearing, this… didn't bode well. "The High Vizier requests your presence."

"Hah? Didn't I meet with him this morning already?" Falgun sighed in annoyance. "I swear, if it's about accepting some human administrators from the Draconic Kingdom—"

"The human queen and her champion are waiting," the clarification was a nail jammed into Rogrek's lungs. What could those two want with his clan? "Personally, I wouldn't keep them."

"Poor choice of time," Falgun grumbled as he pushed himself out of the chair. How was he so self-assured? "Rograk, Rogrek—you two will accompany me," his Rajan raised an inquisitive eyebrow towards the Ape beastman. "I trust there are no complaints?"

The messenger shrugged in a way that showed they didn't think it to be their problem. "Varush said nothing about who you want to bring."

"Rajan, we should reconsider…" Rogrek hesitantly protested. "This is an ill portent."

"So I should leave our guests bereft of my presence?" Falgun snorted. "Rogrek, this was no request; it's a command."

"We're wasting time then," Rograk got to their feet and rubbed the top of his head. "It's just the nerves speaking—would it make sense for them to sabotage us when we share the same foe?"

'That's why I'm worried. They don't make sense.'